Track Listing

1. Fill Me Up
2. These Four Walls
3. Tuff Kid
4. Summer Dress
5. Cinnamon Road
6. Venetian Blue
7. Bird
8. I'm Gone
9. Let It Slide
10. Even Here We Are
11. So Good To See You
12. That Don't Worry Me Now
13. Words
14. Words

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39480 in Music
• Released on: 2006-09-18
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Tuff Kid
Shawn's first new album since 2001, this is a respectable comeback. Having disappeared off the face of the Earth for 5 years, with only a Beatles cover on a (too sparse) retrospective as far as new material is concerned, I was worried a new album would never show up. Reading the liner-notes, it seems she's being going through a great deal of soul-searching and her worldly-wise lyrics state this quite clearly. Nevertheless, here we are, with 11 new songs plus covers of the Bee Gee's Words and Paul Westerberg's Even Here We Are. The latter is the better of the two covers, Words being recorded live and off the cuff and more along the lines of a B-side than an album closer. Album opener, and first single Fill Me Up joins Colvin's other up-tempo classics such as Round Of Blues and Steady On and the title track is possibly one of the most heart-wrenching songs she's written since Polaroids with its opening line 'I'm gonna die in these four walls' and a subtle arrangement that suits the lyrics perfectly. Third track Tuff Kid (barring a dodgy title) is another of her catchy rockers along the lines of Get Out Of This House or Climb On (A Back That's Strong) and deserves release as a single.

However, elsewhere, the memorable tracks become very spartan and you can't help being vaguely disappointed when, mid-way, the tracks seem to segue together and lose their identity. Towards the album's close, Even Here We Are, the marvelously individual So Good To See You and the melancholic, waltzing That Don't Worry Me Now lean towards the quality of the early tracks, but musically the hooks are lacking.

Moreover, this album is more worth while lyrically and doesn't detract from the fact that Shawn Colvin is an excellent singer/songwriter. It hints at the heights of the best tracks on Steady On, Fat City and A Few Small Repairs but too often settles for being background music. Nevertheless, it's a pleasing comeback with a handful of cracking songs and a too-long-awaited reminder that Shawn Colvin is still miles ahead of her peers.

Excellent collection
This is Shawn Colvin's first album in quite sometime and is well worth the wait especially if you were not a fan of her previous release, Whole New You. If you are looking for an album of fast tempo numbers then this is not the album for you. It is a collection of reflective, introspective and thought provoking songs. There are a few upbeat songs such as Fill Me Up and Tuff Kid which are great, but the outstanding songs are Cinnamon Road, Even Here We Are, So Good To See You and the title track. It takes a good few listens and reading of the lyrics to really connect with this album and appreciate the gravity of the songs. The only slight disappointment was the cover of Words. But give this CD time and you will find your humming the songs without realising it.

A Masterclass in songwriting
This album is about as good as songwriting gets. It takes you through a whole range of emotions and characters almost like sitting through a really special movie. The first three tracks are just stunning. Even the throw away final cover version makes me smile. I used to go and see her live shows in London years ago and this album reminds me of just how special a talent she is.